EU Liberals condemn EPP’s “illiberal temptations”

Good morning from Vienna,

THE HAGUE

Livestock numbers must be cut by 75% to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Dutch Party for the Animals (PvdD/Greens) states in its election programme for the upcoming national elections, as tensions over the issue simmer between the outgoing cabinet and farmers. Read more.

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BERLIN

German government announces major budget cuts to avoid future ‘iceberg’. Germany’s budget for next year includes spending cuts in all areas except defence in anticipation of growing future debt, the government announced on Tuesday, but critics worry about extra-budgetary ‘special funds’ not counted in the official budget. Read more.

Scholz praises individual mobility at German car show. Faced with growing environmental criticism, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended individual mobility as a great social achievement and called upon carmakers to make electric vehicles available for all. Read more.

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PARIS

Survey: trust in Le Pen and her party rises. Marine Le Pen and her Rassemblement National party are enjoying increased trust and an uptick in image perception, making her the second most popular political figure in the country, according to a poll published on Tuesday. Read more.

French leftist alliance to present single list ahead of EU elections. France’s left-wing NUPES alliance will present a single list for the 2024 European elections, the leader of the left in the European Parliament, French MEP Manon Aubry, said on Tuesday. Read more.

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BRUSSELS

Belgium urged to speed up lengthy civil proceedings. Belgium has violated the right to a fair trial by allowing a civil case to drag on for seven years, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights said in a press release issued on Tuesday. Read more.

LONDON

The UK government clamps down on laughing gas. Nitrous oxide or laughing gas will be categorised as a class C drug and will become illegal by the end of 2023, the UK government announced on Tuesday. Read more.

ROME

Italy’s majority and minority parties are considering lowering the voting threshold ahead of the upcoming EU elections, while Matteo Renzi’s party remains opposed and aims for an alliance with the centre and the left in Brussels. Read more.

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MADRID

Catalan separatist leader demand amnesty law as precondition to start negotiating with Madrid. An amnesty law, recognition and respect for the “democratic legitimacy” of Catalonia’s independence movement and the creation of a mechanism to verify future political agreements with Madrid are the red lines set out by separatist leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday for the start of formal negotiations to reinstate Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal alters temporary freight transport support rules. Portugal’s government has changed several temporary schemes to mitigate the rise in energy prices and created financial support for outsourced transport of goods or by rail, it announced on Tuesday. Read more.

PRAGUE

Czechia is ready to help Ukraine hold parliamentary and presidential elections in 2024 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that they would need help from Western allies, Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake told EURACTIV.cz. Read more.

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WARSAW

Ukrainian MPs banned from Poland amid ongoing grain row. The Ukrainian Council of Ministers has banned Ukrainian lawmakers from travelling to Poland amid an ongoing row over grain imports, Onet reported on Tuesday, in a move Ukrainian MPs are calling ‘illegal’. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Media freedom experts slam Fico’s moratorium idea after Slovak elections. Former prime minister and current Smer candidate Robert Fico has called for a two-week post-election moratorium to ensure coalition talks are held free of media interference, a move ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders have criticised for being close to absurd and threatening media freedom. Read more.

Slovak elections: How platforms counter political misinformation under DSA. Slovaks will vote in parliamentary elections on 30 September, the first to take place since the entering into force of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which includes obligations for social media platforms to combat political misinformation, hate speech, and the use of these tactics for electoral manipulation. Read more.

TIRANA

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted to the centre-right European People’s Party resolution on allowing the imprisoned mayor-elect of Himare, Fredi Beleri, to be sworn in, passed in the European Parliament on Tuesday. Read more.

Albanian government undergoes significant cabinet reshuffle. As Albanian parliament convened after the summer break, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced a big shakeup with five ministers leaving, seven new appointments, the dissolution of one ministry and the creation of another in one of the largest reshuffles since the Socialist Party (PS) took power in 2013. Read more.

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SOFIA

Bulgaria urged to recognise same-sex couples. Bulgaria must create a legal status to recognise same-sex couples – who are currently wholly deprived of rights on the country's territory – to obtain protection for their private and family life, the Strasbourg–based European Court of Human Rights recently said. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Transgaz Romania takes over Gazprom's operations in Moldova. Romania's gas transmission system operator Transgaz has announced the acquisition of Gazprom's operations in Moldova, a strategic move likely to further reduce Chișinău's dependence on Russian gas. Read more.

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LJUBLJANA

Slovenia plans windfall tax for bank assets. The Slovenian government plans to impose a tax on bank assets as a temporary measure to help finance the reconstruction of Slovenia after the devastating floods in early August. Read more.

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[Edited by Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]